In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) behaved in a regrettably consistent manner: it euthanized the overwhelming majority (PDF) of dogs and cats that it accepted into its shelters. Out of 760 dogs impounded, they killed 713, arranged for 19 to be adopted, and farmed out 36 to other shelters (not necessarily "no kill" ones). As for cats, they impounded 1,211, euthanized 1,198, transferred eight, and found homes for a grand total of five. PETA also took in 58 other companion animals -- including rabbits. It killed 54 of them. These figures don't reflect well on an organization dedicated to the cause of animal rights. Even acknowledging that PETA sterilized over 10,500 dogs and cats and returned them to their owners, it doesn't change the fact that its adoption rate in 2011 was 2.5 percent for dogs and 0.4 for cats.

In 2010 PETA listed $36 million in revenue, most of which presumably went to those naked model ads promoting veganism. (Tipped by JMG reader Fritz)

Fun fact:PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk: "Even if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we'd be against it."

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I can see Facebook from my house

Sarah Palin Not Embarrassed Enough This Week, Would Like to Debate Obama, Please

Self-awareness does not seem to be Sarah Palin's strong suit. (Her strong suits are winking, licking her lips, and quittin' stuff.) Having made herself an easy target for anybody with iMovie, with her rather odd assertion that Obama, a known Lyin' African, would like to take America back to the good ol' slavin' days, Sarah Palin was simply terribly offended that an Obama campaign video-capture-person might take her appearance and, you know, show it. And now Sarah Palin is out for revenge, via her Facebook page.

Exhibit A in these diversionary tactics is an absurd new attack ad President Obama has released taking my comments out of context. I'm not running for any office, but I'm more than happy to accept the dubious honor of being Barack Obama's "enemy of the week" if that includes the opportunity to debate him on the issues Americans are actually concerned about. (Remember when I said you don't need a title to make a difference?)

Maybe Fluke's boyfriend, the son of entrenched Democrat William Mutterperl, can pay for her contraception. His father donates heavily to Democrat candidates. The couple is currently enjoying spring break in California, which poses the question of how Fluke can afford a trip across the country when she can't afford birth control pills.

Before they get sued for libel, CNN should probably correct this since Fluke wasn't talking about herself in her testimony to congressional Democrats. Naturally, reality and facts don't matter to liars like Loesch, Limbaugh and Steyn. But CNN needs to do a better job policing the lies it posts on its internets.

Adding… It's none of Loesch's goddamn business what Fluke does or where she goes. Another wingnut stalking and exposing a private citizen. Classy.

Some nutbag in Arizona—a woman, no less—authored a bill that would allow employers to interrogate their female employees about their sexual practices. Read the rest of this post »

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Via commenter mamayaga, this diary by Lowkell at the Boehner Coloured Satan is well worth a read.

As you no doubt have heard by now (unless you've been out of the country, living under a rock, or comatose), Virginia Republicans – and Republicans around the country – have been on a rampage in recent months with regard to telling women, as well as their doctors, what should and should not be done to/with their bodies. Is it ironic or just pathetic that many of the leaders in this effort have been men like Virginia State Senator (and Republican Caucus Chairman) Ryan McDougle (R-Mechanicsville) ? You decide. Anyway, it appears that McDougle's support for trans-vaginal ultrasound legislation has not gone over too well with at least a few folks, judging from the raunchy comments being left on his Facebook page. Enjoy! :)

*"Hey, since you're so interested in my health, I just wanted to let you know that I've been really horny lately because I'm ovulating. But don't worry; I won't engage in dangerous heterosexual sex that could result in a pregnancy. This is because I'm a really fat and hairy Lesbian and I plan on having sex with women for the rest of my life, the really butchy dykey kind. The current object of my affections, and central character in the majority of the sexual fantasies at the moment, is Alison Bechdel (pictured below). Thanks for showing me the light in regards to my own sexual health, in affirming that having sex with men in more trouble than it's worth. The fact that women are sexier anyway, it just a happy coincidence."

This is clearly the kind of thing that happens when the civil conventions of our society start to break down.

Rich and clueless. Didn't we have enough of that between 2001 and 2009?

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It turns out what the detractors have been saying is correct: The purpose of the pipeline will be to take Canadian oil across the U.S. for export overseas. Even worse, it will work to raise oil and gas prices in much of the U.S., by making it easier for American oil companies to export the stuff.

Gasoline prices will rise about twenty cents a gallon in the Midwest, and this is not according to the treehuggers, no, this the from the analysis of TransCanada, the company that wants to build the pipeline.

Even worse, the pipeline will do squat as far as increasing Canadian exports. They'd export the shit anyway. It just makes it cheaper for them if the pipeline runs across the U.S., so Americans take some of the risk of the pipeline leaking.

The Canadians, of course, are waving the bloody shirt of "evil Middle Eastern oil exports", which shows both how desperate they are and how stupid they think American politicians are. As I've said before oil is a commodity that is sold on a world market. If there is any trouble in the Middle East, then the price of oil will go up and everybody who buys oil will pay that price, regardless of whether all or none of the oil that they purchased came from the Persian Gulf.

Of course, the Canadians are making a safe bet when they figure that our politicians, particularly the Republican ones, are either too stupid to understand that or too venal to care.

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And they get two Senators, too, just like we do. Voters in Alabama and Mississippi saddled up their dinosaurs and headed to the polls to make their presidential preferences known. Since we both know poor southerners we aren't going to mock the poor souls, bless their hearts -- but there is something about those two places that just defies modernity. Even the Borg couldn't assimilate them.

As Utah goes, so goes … well, not that many other states really. Bit of an outlier, that one, with their 35 percent 2008 Bammerz vote, and their million wives each, and their habit of actually paying for porn. But in an actually surprising move, a near-supermajority of Utahans want their governor to veto last week's Lege-approved "Don't Say Sex" Sex-Ed bill. (The bill would ban mention of contraception, homosexuality, or sex in any context other than the marital bed, even if a student asks.)

If Gov. Gary Herbert wants an opinion on whether to sign a recently passed sex education bill, he has plenty to choose from: Lawmakers have made their cases, more than 35,000 people have signed an online petition urging Herbert to veto the bill, and various groups have taken sides.

On Monday, a new Brigham Young University poll joined that list. The poll shows that 58 percent of 472 voters surveyed agree or strongly agree with the statement, "Public schools in Utah should teach about the use of contraceptives."